Merchandise display cabinet



y 1942- D. T. WADDELL 2,283,301

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY CABINET Filed Jan. 4, 1940- 2 Shets-Sheet l y D. T. WADDELL. 2,283,301

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY CABINET I Filed Jan. 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M,AQ

Patented May 19, 1942 ur e STATES MERCHANDISE DISPLAY CABINET Dean T. Waddell, Greenfield, Ohio, assignor to E. J. Brach & Sons, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 4, 1940, Serial No. 312,317

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in merchandise display cabinets.

One object of the invention is to provide anovel cabinet for displaying several kinds of merchandise, such as different kinds of candy or like con fectionery, and rendering packages of the displayed merchandise readily accessible to store clerks or to customers. A cabinet or show case embodying the present improvements thus aids sales by reason of its attractive display of merchandise and the convenience provided by it in enabling customers to select pre-packaged quantities of the goods desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet provided with compartments, each adapted to retain a given quantity of merchandise for display purposes only, and a plurality of bins or open compartments, each associated with one of the display compartments and adapted to hold a number of packages of the merchandise displayed by the respective compartment and thus render the packaged goods of each bin readily identifiable by and accessible to clerks or customers for facilitating the sale of the goods.

An additional object of the invention is to' providea case or cabinet having display compartments or shams, each of which completely encloses the merchandise therein and thus protects it against dust and contaminating contacts and which can be filled or emptied with facility.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of the type mentioned'which is constructed preferably of a pair of stacked sections lower one only will be described specifically. However, in the figures the elements of section II, which correspond with the elements of section H), are given corresponding reference characters but are primed for identification. Section H] of the cabinet comprises a-pair of end walls I2--I2, a base I3 and an inclined panel I4 located cated at approximately the line of juncture of which are relatively adjustable forwardly and Figure 4 is an enlarged broken perspective view illustrating an adjustable connecting means between the two cabinet sections; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the removable shams or merchandise displaying containers of a type suitable for utilization in the cabinet.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the cabinet comprises a pair of sections l0 and H, the latter being superposed on the first. The sections are of substantially identical construction and the tions l5 of the side walls and in the Wall M.

the forward and rear portions l5 and I6. A panel I! preferably of glass extends between the forward ends of the portions I5 and I B, which panel,

together with the portions Iii-I5 and the wall I4 constitute a receptacle which is divided into open top bins by a plurality of dividers or separators 18, also preferably of glass. The glass panels mentioned may be supported by suitable receiving grooves formed in the base l3, in por- The bins indicated by the numeral 19 are designed for holding packaged goods such as candy. The packagesmay consist of cartons or bags of paper or Cellophane, and preferably hold a popular priced quantity of candy of different kinds. It will be seen that packages or bags of candy in the bins l9 are readily accessible to store clerks or to the customers themselves, where the device is employed in self-service stores, for example. 1

The portion of the section ll! of the cabinet located between the upwardly extending rear portions [6-[6 of the side walls comprises compartments open at the front and adapted to receive a plurality of merchandise display containers such as the shams 20 shown in Figure 5. The shams 20 are of box-like construction provided with end walls 2l-2I, a base 22 and a top 23, which may be of wood, composition board or other suitable material. This frame-like structure is suitably grooved for receiving a rear panel 24, which may be of ply-wood, or pressed wood, or other opaque material, and a front panel 25 preferably of glass. The panels 24 and 25 of the shams are thus readily removable when the sham has been removed from the cabinet section It], as will be seen. The shams are designed to hold unpackaged merchandise for display purposes only. The removability of the panels 24 and 25 enables the merchandise readily to be placed in or removed from the shams and also simplifies not only cleaning the interiors of the shams but also in polishing the inner surface of the glass panel 25.

The shams 2B are adapted to be located in the upper cabinet section, each in alignment with one of the bins 193, but at an elevation above the bins whereby the latter can 'be well stacked with.

packaged goodswithout obstructing the view of the displayed goods in the corresponding shams. For supporting the shams in position, a transverse shelf 26 is shown in Figure 2, which shelf is provided with a ledge 21. When the shams have been inserted in the position shown in Figure 2, any suitable latching means, such as pivoted spring members 28, may be turned to engage the upper rear portion of the shams and thus hold them in position. Since the front face of the rear upper portion of the cabinet section is open, the glass panels 25 of the shams render the merchandise in the respective shams visible from the front of the cabinet, and not only are the goods therein visible to prospective customers and thus serve to identify the character of the goods in the bins I9 aligned with the respective shams, but the latter also protects the unpackaged goods on display from dust and from other contaminating contacts. It will be apparent that by turning the latches 28 the various shams can readily be removed from the position shown in Figure 2, the merchandise removed therefrom and fresh merchandise substituted, which may be of the same character, or a different kind of candy or merchandise, if so desired. However, for the convenience of customers, the goods within each sham should correspond with thegoods in the packages in the corresponding bins so that a customer, upon seeing in one of the shams a kind of candy or other confection that he desires, need only select one or more packages from the corresponding bin.

Extending along the base of the bins I9 there is provided a channel strip 29 adapted to hold price cards for indicating the price of the goods in the packages in the respective bins. As will be noted, the lower section I is of greater width from front to rear than upper section II, although the bins and shams of each section pref.- erably are of the same size. The upper ends of the portions I6 of the side Walls I2 may be provided with tongues 30, while the lower edges of the end walls I2 of the upper section may be complementarily grooved as indicated at 3|, whereby when the upper section is located on the upper end of the lower section, the sections are held against relative lateral movement. However, this construction enables the upper section to be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly on the lower section. The cabinet illustrated is adapted to be positioned on any suitable support such as a counter 32. Since the available supports or counters in stores and shops may vary in height, as well as width, the relative adjustability of one section with respect to the other gives added convenience in the use of the cabinet under different conditions. For example, where a counter or other support 32 is relatively low, it is desirable to shift the upper section II rearwardly so that the forwardly projecting bin section of the upper cabinet will not unduly obstruct the view of the display shams in the lower section. In Figure 2 of the drawings, the lower section I0 is shown with its left hand or forward end projecting beyond the edge of the counter, while the upper section II is shown projecting at the rear thereof beyond the rear face of section I0. It is, of course, desirable that upper section II does not project inwardly beyond the plane of the right hand edgeof the counter, since otherwise it might be an annoyance to clerks working at the rear of the counter. Where a support or counter is relatively high above the floor, it will be seen that shams of display compartments of the lower section I0 of the cabinet. Where a space is available along a wall, the cabinet can be placed with the rear or right hand faces thereof, as viewed in Figure 2, against such wall, since access to the interior of the sections is not required except when the merchandise in the shams is to be removed. Since the cabinet is made in sections, they may be of a size rendering them readily portable and thus can be shifted from time to time to differentlocations in a store without difficulty. If desired, an advertising panel 33 may be provided on the top of the cabinet section II], as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

While I have shown and described an embodiment of my improvements for the purposes of illustration, it will be obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of th invention.

I claim: I

1. A cabinet for merchandise comprising a pair of sections one superposed on the other and provided with means enabling horizontal adjustment of the upper section with respect to the lower section, each section comprising a row of open top bins for packaged merchandise and arow of elevated compartments each located rearwardly of one of said bins, said compartments having open front faces, and a removable sham for each compartment comprising a container for unwrapped merchandise corresponding to the wrapped merchandise of the adjacent bin and provided with a glazed front wall for displaying the contained merchandise and identifying the wrapped merchandise of the associated bin.

2. A cabinet for merchandise comprising an upper and a lower section, each of said sections comprising a forwardly extending lower portion providing .a plurality of open bins for wrapped merchandise and a rearwardly disposed elevated portion providing compartments each contiguous to one of said bins and each having a glazed front wall adapted to display unwrapped merchandise corresponding to the wrapped merchandise of the contiguous bin, and cooperating means in the base of said lower portion of the upper section and in the upper portion of the lower section for preventing lateral displacement of the upper section when superposed on the lower section and enabling adjustment of the upper section forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the lower section.

3. A cabinet for merchandise comprising a pair of sections one positioned on the other and each having a lower forward portion comprising a row of open top bins for packaged goods and a rear section comprising a row of compartments located at an elevation above the respective bins, each of said compartments being aligned with one of said bins and comprising a closedcontainer adapted for displaying unpackaged goods corresponding to the packaged goods of the aligned bin, the lower forward portion of the upper section projecting forwardly beyond the front plane of the row of compartments of the lower section, and means removably securing the upper section on the lower section and enabling the upper section to be adjusted forwardly and rearwardlyofthe lower section ,foraltering the extent said row of bins ofthe upper section projects beyond the front plane of the closed compartments of the lower section.

DEAN T. WADDELL. 

